Ranji Trophy: Karun Nair slams unbeaten 152 as Karnataka make 268 for 8 against J&K on Day 1

Nair came up with a fighting unbeaten 152 as Karnataka scored 268 for 8 against Jammu & Kashmir on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group C match on Thursday. Opener Devdutt Padikkal (8) fell early to Mujtaba Yousuf (2 for 44) after Karnataka won the toss and elected to bat. Nair (267 balls, 21 fours, 1 six) and the other opening batter Ravikumar Samarth (45, 5 fours) then added 98 runs for the second wicket to steady the innings.

K V Siddharth, who hit a century in the opening match against Railways, helped Nair add 56 runs for the third wicket. Nair grew in confidence and was on the lookout for runs. However, the dismissal of Siddharth sparked a mini collapse as Karnataka slipped from 164 for 2 to 190 for 190 for 5 and then 209 for 7 after losing Shreyas Gopal (7) and K Gowtham (2) to the veteran spinner Parvez Rasool (2 for 51).

Nair kept scoring runs even as he kept losing partners but he found an able ally in Ronit More, who made 23 from 59 balls and was involved in a vital 59-run partnership for the eighth wicket. More, who batted resolutely, fell LBW to Yousuf off the final delivery of the day. The 30-year Karun Nair holds the key if Karnataka has to reach a total of 300 in the first innings.